Comic - Con @Home

We have been hiatus since last years comic con due to Covid and life events. We made it a point to check out CC@home this year and we hope o get back into the swing of things once this Pandemic is over. 2020 was a bust. But that only means more great stuff in store for 2021!!.

Until then heres a round up of SDCC@home

People go to conventions for many reasons; one of the biggest reasons is to meet like-minded people and industry peers. They can bring together people from all different geographical areas who share a similar passion for whatever the convention is about. San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) International is a non-profit, multi-genre entertainment and comic book convention held annually in San Diego, California. It has become essentially the quintessential celebration of all things nerdy. Each year, fans of TV, movies, comic books, and pop culture head to the city (that was not “discovered by the Germans in 1904”) where networks, studios, and publishers release information on their most exciting upcoming properties. Over 100,000 people pile into a big convention hall—dressed in costume, meeting celebrities, taking pictures, and/or buying products. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, this was the first year since 1970 that the convention did not happen in-person.

Comic-Con@Home (2020) was certainly a risk; it had to come together really quickly under unprecedented circumstances. Would this stop people from coming to San Diego all together in the future if they continue to offer the “@Home” experience? It may have been far easier to postpone or cancel the entire convention. However, as with a lot of planned events, a lot of money prior to the pandemic was invested in putting this convention together. They had to contact people to record panels via Zoom or Skype; they then released the videos on YouTube without allowing people to comment. This makes the content not as “exclusive,” as people don’t have to be somewhere specific to see the videos at a specific time and date; you have the option to watch the videos later at your own convenience. As such, this can be somewhat of a loss for both the fans as well as the studios and networks. However, for someone who always wanted to go to San Diego for this convention but never had the time or money to do it, this was a dream come true.

Even though Comic-Con@Home was entirely virtual, it was still the source of some major announcements in the entertainment world and, if viewed, had the power to inspire and connect with fans even without direct contact. “Inspiration” is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions”; without a doubt there were numerous events over the course of the weekend that not only could help fans and future industry workers be inspired, but also touched on the creators’ inspiration. The many panels showed how a lot of these people (who fans view as “A-list celebrities”) are very similar to a lot of the fans sitting at home watching these videos; to be sure, there are obvious differences, but the similarities in interests and likes still exist.

Anyone who has attended a convention knows that people want the backstory of their favorite creator, to see if there is a similar line that can push them to do what they want. This theme of inspiration was embedded in the entire weekend starting on Thursday, July 22, 2020 continuing into the evening of Sunday, July 26, 2020. As there were many events to participate in, this recap will be covering specifically the events that are applied to films.

Thursday, July 23

The New Mutants Panel

The New Mutants has been the target of constant jokes, memes, and sarcasm for how many times the release date has been pushed back. Hilariously, the film’s producers knew this would be a topic as the panel opened with a series of dates flashed across the screen. They showed “in theaters April 13th, 2018,” and then that date was crossed out. It is then replaced by “in theaters February 22nd, 2019,” which is again crossed out and replaced by “in theaters August 2nd, 2019,” “February 22nd, 2019,” “August 2nd, 2019,” and “April 3rd, 2020.” It was really great to see that the studio is embracing this self-depreciation. They are not trying to hide the fact that this happened, which I think could be a good thing. They know the issue is the release date-—if the film was bad, they probably would not have kept on pushing it back. It probably would have already been released on streaming services. For better or for worse, the studio thinks that this film is worth the wait.

Fans have been anticipating this movie for a while now because of how it would present horror elements in the superhero genre, based on the Marvel Comics team of the same name. It was directed by Josh Boone and stars Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Alice Braga, Blu Hunt, and Henry Zaga. The panel included all of these people plus the designer of the original material. The panel touched on some of the auditions of the cast members, and newly released emojis for each of the mutant characters. Due to the pandemic there is still no confirmed date on when the film will arrive in cinemas but it was confirmed it will still be released at some point. They even presented a glimpse of the opening sequence and a new trailer. This film has pushed through a lot of resistance, whether from the studio, the pandemic, or something else unknown, and that in and of itself is inspiring. The film still does look intriguing and we’ll see how it turns out when the film is finally released in theatres.

Directors on Directors Panel

Robert Rosriguez director of Spy Kids, El Mariachi, Sin City), Colin Trevorrow (director of Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Dominion), and Joseph Kosinski (director of Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, and Top Gun: Maverick) provided a great discussion about the craft of directing and projects past, present, and future. They discussed how in some ways the pandemic has been a blessing to them; it has allowed for them to stop and reflect on what they have done already, which is something they normally do not get to do. They normally get a certain amount of days to film and that’s it. Now, if they do not like something, they can possibly reshoot it or change it when they get back to production (which Jurassic World: Dominion is officially doing now).

Talking about technology in film, Trevorrow indicated that Jurassic World: Dominion would have the most animatronic dinosaurs ever used in the franchise:

We’ve actually gone more practical with every Jurassic movie we’ve made since the first one, and we’ve made more animatronics in this one than we have in the previous two. And the thing that I’ve found, especially in working in the past couple months, is that we finally reached a point where it’s possible to… Digital extensions on animatronics will be able to match the texture and the level of fidelity that, on film, an animatronic is going to be able to bring.

Colin Trevorrow, Director of Jurassic World: Dominion

Also touching on the technology, Trevorrow stated that he used virtual reality to help him film scenes in fantasy spaces, and Kosinski stated that for his Top Gun film he used new cameras. These cameras were similar to GoPro in function but produced IMAX-quality footage.

The best moment of the panel was when Rodriguez was responding to a question of pushing back when needed and described his experience when he pitched Spy Kids. Rodriguez described how the film was based on his own family; Rodriguez is the son of two Mexican parents, and his uncle was a spy who brought down two of the top ten criminals in history. He grew up with ten brothers and sisters, so when the studios asked why he wanted to make a film with a “Latin family” it seemed pretty obvious to him. The studio thought that because it had never been done before that it may decrease the audience to only other Latin families. He pushed back with the argument, “You don’t have to be British to enjoy James Bond. By being so specific, it becomes more universal.” He “set [his] flag” and stood his ground. He is now making a film called We Can Be Heroes which is about the children of Earth’s superheroes teaming up to save their parents and the world. The film is going to be a sequel to The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3D. It will star Priyanka Chopra, Christian Slater, Pedro Pascal, Sung Kang, and eleven kids from different backgrounds. However, one of his most successful films to this day remains to be Spy Kids.  The film went on to make $147.9 million on a $35 million budget and spawned three sequels. Whatever your opinion might be of the sequels, Spy Kids had a huge impact on diversity before it was really a push to make diversity important. This all came from the director believing in his idea and sticking to it.

Friday, July 24

Charlize Theron: Evolution of a Badass – An Action Hero Career Retrospective

In recent years, Charlize Theron has become a huge action star, starring in films like Æon Flux, The Old Guard, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Atomic Blonde; even establishing herself as a top-notch villain in The Fate of the Furious (2017), Cipher. On top of being an action star, she has had critically-acclaimed performances in the comedy-drama Tully (2018), the romantic comedy Long Shot (2019), and the biographical drama Bombshell (2019). The latter earned her a third Academy Award nomination. Her prior two were for Monster (2003) and North Country (2005), and her performance in Monster won her an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Female Role. As of 2019, she was paid $23 million and was the 9th highest paid female actor and about the 18th highest paid actor in the world, taking into account the top 10 from both categories. In 2016, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. They stated that “she is deeply involved with her foundation, the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project helping young South Africans protect themselves from HIV.” But also, “she’s incredibly results-oriented and knows her programs really well.” They also said that “she’s not afraid to say what’s on her mind,” and this panel was no different, particularly when asked, “What draws you to these roles?”

Theron said growing up in South Africa played a part as her mother loved Chuck Norris and Charles Bronson and her father loved the original Mad Max movies. But her biggest reason was this:

I’m intrigued by the messiness of being human, especially a woman. We talk about representation, not just racial or cultural representation but female representation. I remember vividly just feeling such a lack of watching conflicted women in cinema. There was a part of me as an actor that felt so unbelievably jealous of Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro who got to play all of these really f****d up people, and women very rarely got to explore that. There was almost this inert fear of putting a woman in circumstances where she might not shine. I do believe society has us somewhat in his Madonna whore complex box. We can be really good hookers or really good mothers but anything in-between, people are sometimes not brave enough to want to go and explore…It’s so sad to me because the richness of those stories are not only great entertaining stories to tell and great movies to make but it is a disservice to women in general. We are more complicated than those two things and we can be many things. Our strengths can come from our faults, from our mistakes, from our petty, from our vulnerabilities, and our madness. Those are the things that make us interesting… [All of my characters] are all survivors and they are trying to survive… That, as a woman, I can relate to.

Charlize Theron

She said her main inspiration was Sigourney Weaver’s role as Ripley in the ALIEN movies, “[Ripley] was real and she was living in this world. The amount of intelligence she brought to that role, she was completely in demand of it; she owned that role. But it wasn’t forced, and it wasn’t written, and it wasn’t acted, it was just lived. She was just living in that world in such an authentic way. And Furiosa was the first time I felt like… she just felt so real to me.”

This realness is shown in Theron’s personal character as well. She is a hard worker as she is one that “was raised to get up and do work.” This gives off a fearless quality that many in Hollywood often compliment her for, and it even happened in this interview. She said she was thankful for this but she is scared a lot of the time and is only “really good at covering it up.” She stated she is afraid because she does not know how long she’ll have roles in movies. She almost feels that each role may be her last. This anxiety-like feeling leads her to work harder at her job, be more creative, and be able to stay awake long into the night to get her work done. Theron may state that she’s not a hero but she is in a way; she speaks her mind, no matter the consequences, and takes roles to not only show complex female characters, but also represent women in the best way, as real people. She admits her flaws and perhaps hides them at times, but when asked about them she is true to herself. That is an admirable quality in a person, and Theron establishes herself as a true role model and an inspiration to people everywhere.

Saturday, July 25

The Art of Adapting Comics to the Screen: David S. Goyer Q&A

David Goyer’s most famous screenwriting credits include the Blade trilogy, Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, Dark City, Man of Steel and its sequel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. This interview had Goyer discussing his writing process and how he brought these comic book characters to the big screen. While his most successful work is obviously the Nolan trilogy, one of his most controversial adaptations is in Man of Steel (2013). When he worked with Nolan they approached the Batman character in a more serious and grounded way that hadn’t been done in previous live-action versions of the character, though they did keep some comic book aspects out like the Lazarus Pit.

Many fans have thought when Ra’s al Ghul (Liam Neeson) closes his eyes toward the end of Batman Begins (2005) (when Batman beats him on the train) that it was Nolan and Goyer’s attempt to imply that al Ghul knew that he could come back after the crash like he does a lot in the comics to which Goyer replied:

…there was never any discussion that Chris or I had about that, but if you think about it, it was a fairly realistic approach. I think if you introduce something like the Lazarus Pit into that (I’m not saying you couldn’t tell a cool story with the Lazarus Pit; I think you could), I just don’t think that the Lazarus Pit would’ve gelled with that approach.

David S. Goyer

They attempted to apply the same realistic formula to Superman in Man of Steel, which to some worked well, and to others it did not. Their interpretation of Superman’s origin story brought about the arrival of the alien militant Zod, similar to that of The Dark Knight (2008) pushing Joker to come out in response to Batman revealing himself. In Man of Steel Superman kills Zod in order to save planet Earth. This decision rightfully upset a lot of fans of the character. Goyer said that the reason for them having Superman kill Zod was two fold: one, because they wanted to do something drastic, similar to the risks that he and Nolan took with Batman; and two, because they felt that Superman had no other choice but to kill Zod.

At times, he seemed unsure in the interview that everything they did was the right call for the film; however, Goyer, sticking to his guns regarding the controversial decision, shows how even a writer can be inspirational even if you do not agree with the final product.

Constantine: 15th Anniversary Reunion

This panel included starring actor, Keanu Reeves, director Francis Lawrence, and producer Akiva Goldsman who reunited to reflect on the making of Constantine (2005). This film marked Lawrence’s first film and also starred Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Djimon Hounsou, Gavin Rossdale, and Peter Stormare. For those who are not familiar with the film or the character, John Constantine is a cynic who can communicate with half-angels and half-demons in their true form. He tried to commit suicide as a child so he is trying to redeem himself to avoid eternal damnation in Hell. The film holds an approval rating of 46% on Rotten Tomatoes based on the reviews of 224 critics and an average rating of 5.4/10. The critics’ consensus states: “Despite solid production values and an intriguing premise, Constantine lacks the focus of another spiritual shoot-em-up, The Matrix.” On Metacritic (which assigns a weighted average), the film holds a score of 50 out of 100 based on the reviews of 41 critics, indicating “mixed or average reviews.”

This film is very different from a lot of comic book movies as it deals with the occult, magic, Heaven and Hell, etc. When asked about his inspiration for this film, Lawrence stated that he looked to noir films such as Blade Runner (1982) and The Maltese Falcon (1941) instead of other comic book movies. Lawrence felt that Warner Bros. didn’t give much respect to this film mostly because Batman Begins was being filmed next door. Even though this movie is rated R, the movie was filmed to be PG-13. He states that there was a checklist they followed to the letter but then was given an R rating “based on tone.” As such, he felt that they didn’t push the boundaries as much as they could have if they had known they were going to get an R rating. The film does touch some really interesting concepts of how Heaven and Hell are actually parallel to the current world but respectively are nice and awful.

Constantine, as a character, has gotten a following in recent years after having an NBC television show starring Matt Ryan. Ryan continued this role on the CW’s Arrowverse, mostly showing up in Legends of Tomorrow. He also has voiced the character in three DC animated movies, Justice League Dark, Constantine: City of Demons – The Movie, and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. Unlike Ryan, Reeves is not a blonde British man like the source material but he connected with John Constantine’s cynicism. “He’s tired of all the rules and morals and ethics, and angels and demons, but is still a part of it,” Reeves said, and he “loved his sense of humor.” Though they wanted to do a sequel, the film’s oddness and only moderate box office success prevented them from following up with a sequel even though, “we always talked about a sequel more than the studio.”

They fought for the movie to be filmed in Los Angeles because of the city’s grittiness. The film has been slowly gaining a cult status and it has a 72% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Lawrence has also had a very successful career after this film directing the zombie apocalyptic I Am Legend, the romantic drama Water for Elephants, three of the four films in the Hunger Games film series, and the spy thriller Red Sparrow. You add Reeves’ resurgence as an action star and there might be a market for a sequel that has “[John] wakes up in a cell. He has to identify the prisoner… And it was Jesus.” This sequel would be “a Hard-R sequel, I think we could probably make it tomorrow.” Fans of this movie, and the people making the film, could be enough for Warner Brother’s to be inspired to make another film.

Guillermo del Toro and Scott Cooper on Antlers and Filmmaking

Both of these directors have had big impacts on cinema. Del Toro is one of the biggest names when it comes to Mexican filmmakers and he is also good friends with the other members of “The Amigos of Cinema,” Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro G. Iñárritu. This designation was due to their friendship being comparable to Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Brian De Palma. The world has not always been keen on bringing Mexican films to the front, but all three have changed Hollywood for the better. They all have their own type of film and del Toro’s usually is connected to fairy tales and horror. He tries to combine the idea of beauty and the beast, giving things that society has viewed as “grotesque.” He also usually ties this in with Catholic themes and is known for using practical special effects for his films. His most famous work is Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone, Blade II, Hellboy, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak, and The Shape of Water, the latter of which won him an Oscar for Best Director and Best Picture. He also has produced and/or wrote on The Orphanage, The Hobbit film series, Mama, and Pacific Rim: Uprising. Cooper has not had as long of a career as del Toro but he has had a lot of success as well. His first film, Crazy Heart (2009), won Jeff Bridges a Best Actor award of which he also was a writer on. He has directed Out of the Furnace (2013), Black Mass (2015), and Hostiles (2017). Where these two men come together is in Cooper’s next film, Antlers starring Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T. Thomas, Graham Greene, Scott Haze, Rory Cochrane, and Amy Madigan. The film was previously scheduled to be released on April 17, 2020 but, because of the pandemic, it will be released on February 19, 2021.

The movie is about a schoolteacher and her police officer brother in a small Oregon town, where they become convinced one of her students is concealing a supernatural creature. It is based on the Wendigo, a mythical creature in the folklore of First Nations Algonquin tribes in the Pacific Northwest. Because of this, First Nations consultants were hired to work on the film. According to del Toro:

The Wendigo has very specific cues you have to follow. The antlers, for example, are a must… We’re not creating a monster, we’re creating a God. So the design needs to have elements that are completely unnatural, that are almost surreal or abstract.

Guillermo del Toro

This will allow for another great practical effects creation from del Toro, and will most definitely benefit Cooper, as he has never worked with creature effects. Cooper was excited to work with del Toro because they “created something that’s wholly unique.” The film will be touching on ideas of being an individual in a time dealing with climate change, how Native Americans are treated, and the Opioid drug epidemic. Cooper went on to say that one of the best things he has gotten out of making this film is del Toro. He stated that because del Toro was a young director, he knows a lot of the ins and outs of the filmmaking process. He provided insight that a producer could not which helped him make a better film. On the other side of it, del Toro stated that he produces “to learn from the filmmakers.” It was quite a pairing for these two to work together as their needs matched up perfectly.

Outside of their own work inspiring each other, Cooper and del Toro jointly said that the Coen Brothers were the directors that truly inspired them, describing The Coen Brothers’ work as “poetry” and “utterly mysterious.” Del Toro continued to say that watching films is what inspires him to make more movies. For all those out there that collect hard copies of movies, del Toro can relate as he has a collection of about 7,000 discs that he can pull from to watch. Now that is something to gravitate towards even if one does not like his films.

Bill & Ted Face the Music Panel

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure was released in 1989 and its first sequel, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, was released in 1991. Now, almost thirty years later, the second sequel, Bill & Ted Face the Music is about to be released. This panel was a little different from the rest of them as it did not have the actors Keanu Reeves (Ted) and Alex Winter (Bill) reminiscing and/or answering questions about their time on the older films. It wasn’t about giving some sort of big news, trailer, or giving something exclusive—it was about the love shared between the filmmakers, the actors, and the fans. The panel included actors, Samara Weaving, Brigette Lundy-Paine, William Sadler, director Dean Parisot, and writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson.

Whether you like these movies or not, the love when making them is there as well as the fanbase. Weaving, who plays Bill’s daughter in the newest sequel said, “Watching those three have that very special [time], it felt almost intimate, that was really touching and incredible… I felt so lucky to actually be there and watch that.” This love was shared by Reeves: “I can’t feel or laugh or do anything like the way that [I do] working on Bill & Ted and working with Alex… That doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world for me.”

Even Kevin Smith (who moderated this panel) couldn’t hold back his love for the original film and stated that “there would be no Jay and Silent Bob if there was not a Bill and Ted.” He has even seen this new movie and said that it is hilarious. The best word he could use to describe it was “adorable,” but not in a bad way. He wanted to show that this film was very emotional for him to see. Smith is an acclaimed director in his own right, and also technically canon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, one of the things that he never stops being is a fan (more on that below in the next panel). Smith moderating this panel allowed for this love to come through from both the fans and the actors on set. This love between these people has extended over thirty years and will hopefully continue on with old fans and new fans when the next film is released.

An Evening with Kevin Smith

The final event of Day 3 was concluded with a video from director, Kevin Smith. As mentioned above, Smith is an acclaimed director who is mostly known for Clerks (1994) which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted in as the character Silent Bob. He also created Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Clerks II (2006), and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019). All of these films are primarily in his home state of New Jersey and are part of a shared universe known as the “View Askewniverse.” Interestingly, this universe is technically part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Stan Lee’s cameo in Captain Marvel had him reading the script to Mallrats of which he was acting in.

One thing that Smith never stops being is a fan and a self-proclaimed nerd. He never shies away from it. If he cries during a season finale of The Flash television show, he will post up on YouTube for everyone to see. He owns a New Jersey comic book store called Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. He also has a movie-review TV show and multiple podcasts. The title of this video is an obvious allude to sessions Smith held with fans at various American colleges in 2001/2002. During the sessions, Smith answers questions regarding his movies, as well as his life. While there was not so much a questions portion to this video, Smith provided his fans with an update on what’s been going on with him. While most of the video had Smith discussing his tour for Jay and Silent Bob Reboot and what he is doing in the podcast world, his best moment came when he told his story of how he became immortalized in Hollywood:

When I was a kid, before there was internet and before there was cable tv, I loved Hollywood…I didn’t do sports. I just loved movies and tv…When I was about nine years old in 1979, my father said to my mom, ‘The fat one loves Hollywood. Let’s take the fat one to Hollywood.’ So [my family] got on a train to California… First stop was Grauman’s Chinese Theatre… My father says to me, ‘Maybe you’ll be here one day.’ Forty years later, my father was right. The morning of the premiere of Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, me and Jay, two Jersey kids, got to stand in the forecourt and put our feet in the cement and write our names into Hollywood history.

Kevin Smith

Even if you do not care much about his films, Kevin Smith is one of those people who always feels grounded, not only in his work but also in his personality. To see someone come from a town of about 12,000 people, son of a homemaker and postal worker get to where he’s gotten in his lifetime is inspiring. He is also an inspiration to a lot of people especially after his 2018 heart attack caused by a total blockage of the left anterior descending artery known as “the widowmaker.” Following the episode, he lost a doctor mandated 58 lbs., going from 256 lbs. to 198 lbs. He has maintained that via a vegan diet and now is a paid spokesperson for Weight Watchers. Going through something like that can really change a person and even that hasn’t really changed Smith. He is still doing who he wants to except now with a healthier lifestyle which is what many of us want as well.

Hilton Bayfront San Diego- quickly 4listed

The pool.

Even on cloudy, hairy leg days the pool is a nice escape.

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The View

You get a great view of the harbor and this rusty old boat! 

 

Location

You can't get closer to Hall H then the Hilton Bayfront

 

 

Roommates

Nothing beats annoyingly snoring roommates who get in line for Hall H before anyone else